June 4, 2025
Submitting an early investigator career award this summer? Uncertain how news out of DC will impact these awards?
I recommend you ask AI to outline how the federal budget process works, and also explain to you the history of similar drastic budget cuts during the first year of Trump's first term.
There are certainly no guarantees, and there is risk involved in summer submission. The risk of sitting on your hands may be just as great. The proposal flux may be low, and it seems worst case, you'll get critical feedback on your ideas and next steps.
If you do plan to submit this summer, consider the following guidance from headframes.net on helping to communicate your unique value proposition:
BLUF: Bottom line up front
•Describe the problem in a few concise sentences, then pivot to YOUR solution.
•Consider: A problem description will not set you apart, the solution will.
•Don't overstate what you can reasonably accomplish within the scope of the award, i.e. despite my best efforts, I did NOT usher in a hydrogen economy.
Know your audience (i.e. typical reviewers in your directorate/division):
•What do they care about?
•What are standard expectations (metrics, contingency plans, pathways forward, career goals, format, level of derivations, theory, etc.) for this group?
The Pitch:
•Why now? Why you?
•Address this in your first page: If successful, [my solution] will [impact that matters to the customer]
•Path
•Risks (and contingency plan)
•Needs
•Impact
When you have a first draft of your proposal, consider using Headframes 5 minute mentor to get initial impressions from peers and senior faculty. I used this successfully in my past roles; it provides a quick gauge on whether your value proposition will excite your reviewers. Find it at Headframes Public commons, here: https://lnkd.in/gzNGa49u
June 3, 2025
Young investigators: As you fine tune any summer proposal submissions, a useful "tried and true" link to help you increase proposal success rate is in my post below. My experience is reviewers read the proposal overview, and either formally or informally "bin" proposals into: "Meh" or "This has promise. I'll read this in more detail". It is critical to be in the latter bin. Use the 5 minute mentor to help to accomplish this: https://lnkd.in/gbBsvQj2.